Side chair c. 1830

natural stone pattern

pottery

3d printed part

sculpture

furniture

wood background

sculptural image

3d shape

stoneware

framed image

united-states

statue

This side chair, dating back to around 1830, is a fine example of American folk art. The anonymous artist has used a simple, yet elegant design, with a focus on decorative detail. The chair is painted in a faux-wood pattern, likely to mimic more expensive materials. It features a woven rush seat and is decorated with hand-painted motifs of fruit and flowers, and geometric patterns in gold, showcasing the artist's skill and artistic vision. The chair's presence in the Minneapolis Institute of Art highlights the importance of folk art within American artistic traditions.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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Painted furniture has been popular in America since first settlement. Objects like this painted chair were usually referred to as "fancy" at the time because of the fanciful patterns and faux finishes used to decorate them. In this fancy chair, wet yellow and green paint was smoke-grained or exposed to the smoke of a candle, resulting in sooty, almost cloudlike shapes. Decorative painters up and down the east coast admired and copied the technique. The decoration of this tour de force chair is enhanced with stenciled and freehand decoration imitating fruit, anthemia, and brass buttons.